Declined Marginally In December

Sunrise Market Commentary - Fixed Income: Profit taking continued, but now concluded? - The profit taking on global core bond markets continued in the run-up to tonight's informal EU-Summit. Spanish and Italian spreads decreased significantly but yields remain at elevated levels. Today, the eco calendar is again thin and trading will again be driven by sentiment. - Currencies: Euro rebound short-lived On - Tuesday, the euro came again under pressure even as the global context was not that negative. Sentiment on risk was constructive and intra-EMU spreads narrowed, but all this didn't prevent investors to use any upticks in the single currency to further reduce exposure. The key 1.2642/24 support is again coming within reach. The Sunrise Headlines - In the final hour of ...

The Weekly Bottom Line : 30/03/2012 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK United States February's personal income and spending report revealed some mixed signals about the U.S. economy. Real after-tax incomes declined 0.1%, but real consumer spending managed an impressive 0.5% increase. Even after this solid spending gain, Q1 GDP growth is tracking close to 2%, and growth is unlikely to breakout above the 3% range until the end of 2013. This leaves questions about whether the recent pace of improvement in the job market can be sustained. In a highly publicized speech this week, Bernanke emphasized this theme and made it clear that the Fed is focused on jobs, and stands ready to act if conditions worsen. Canada Equity markets ended the quarter strongly with the S&P/TSX Composite ...

(Reuters) - The number of jobs waiting to be filled rose in December as employers tried to ramp up hiring in factories, retail and business services, the government said on Tuesday. There were 3.4 million available jobs at the end of December, up from 3.1 million in November, according to the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The number of jobs open in November was revised slightly downward from an initially reported 3.2 million. Monthly job openings - unfilled, posted vacancies that employers plan to fill within 30 days - help describe demand for labor. The number of job openings has increased about 30 percent since the end of the 2007-09 recession, although they remain well below the 4.4 million level registered in December 2007. In December, job openings in ...

The Weekly Bottom Line : 04/11/2011 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK United States Global leaders met in Cannes this week to discuss a multitude of global policy issues. Unfortunately, a solution to the biggest risk facing the global economy - Europe's fiscal crisis - remains elusive. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou shocked global markets this week after announcing plans to hold a referendum on the country's debt austerity plans. While later recanting this pledge, the move highlights a key challenge facing the European crisis: economic solutions are not always politically feasible. Meanwhile, Mario Draghi took over as the leader of the European Central Bank (ECB). With a mild European recession looming, the new president took decisive action and unexpectedly cut the ECB's ...

(Reuters) - The Swiss franc fell against the euro and the dollar on Thursday, with traders citing talk that the Swiss National Bank was intervening in the currency forwards market as it renewed efforts to curb the currency's recent strength. The U.S. dollar rose against commodity-linked currencies like the Australian dollar while the Japanese yen was supported as stocks declined and money market tensions drove investors to the relative safety of the greenback and the yen. The dollar firmed 0.4 percent against the Swiss franc at 0.7935 francs while the euro rose 0.5 percent to 1.1460 francs, off an earlier high of 1.1515. "They (the SNB) have been in the FX swap market," said Chris Walker, currency strategist at UBS. "But we think the euro/Swiss franc will still fall back toward parity." ...

Weekly Economic and Financial Commentary U.S. Review Housing Activity Still on the Road to Recovery * Better-than-expected first quarter earnings helped push the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its highest level in over three years. The upbeat earnings announcements overshadowed somewhat lackluster housing market data released during the week. * Sales of existing homes rose to a 5.1 million-unit pace in March, but distressed transactions accounted for 40 percent of overall sales. Investors accounted for 22 percent of sales and all-cash buyers rose to a record 35 percent. The increasing entrance of investors and all-cash buyers is a sign a bottom in home prices is near. Home Sweet Rental Home Better-than-expected first quarter earnings helped push the Dow Jones Industrial ...

(Reuters) - New U.S. single-family home sales unexpectedly fell in February to hit a record low and prices were the lowest since December 2003, suggesting the housing market slide was deepening. KEY POINTS: * New U.S. single-family home sales unexpectedly fell in February to hit a record low and prices were the lowest since December 2003, a government report showed on Wednesday, suggesting the housing market slide was deepening. * The Commerce Department said sales dropped 16.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted 250,000 unit annual rate, the lowest since records began in 1963, after an upwardly revised 301,000-unit pace in January. Sales plunged to all-time lows in three of the four regions last month. * Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales edging up to a 290,000-unit ...

U.S. Review Headline Real GDP Comes in Weaker than Expected * Real GDP grew at a 3.2 percent annual pace in the fourth quarter, which was weaker than expected. The increase in output, however, pushed the level of GDP to $13.38 trillion slightly surpassing the peak of $13.36 trillion reached in late 2007. The disappointing headline figure was lowered by a significant pullback in inventories, which carved an eye-popping 3.7 percentage points off real GDP. Real final sales jumped 7.1 percent. * Consumer confidence rose 7.3 points in January to 60.6, the fourth increase in five months and the highest level since May 2010. Global Review Big Miss on Q4 GDP Raises Doubts about U.K. Recovery * Following four consecutive quarters of expansion, the U.K. economy contracted at a 2.0 ...

Weekly Economic and Financial Commentary U.S. Review Economic Recovery Remains on Solid Foundation * The U.S. economy continues to generate solid economic growth. The December retail sales and industrial production reports released last Friday revealed a consumer that is spending a little more readily and a manufacturing sector that is being re-energized by growing end demand. * The outlook also appears fairly bright. The December leading indicators report released by the Conference Board has jumped more than 2.0 percentage points over the past two months and has been gaining ground since last June when the economy hit its summer lull. Strong Economic Data Where It Counts The December readings on retail sales and industrial production painted an increasingly bright picture of ...